Search: ' Equatorial Guinea'
Stories
While the tournament was not an unqualified success, Zambia’s continental title win was poignant and triumphant in ways that could have never have been expected, writes Paul Giess
With so many of Africa’s major footballing nations not qualifying for this year’s Cup of Nations, the big story of the group stages was the unexpected success of co-hosts Gabon and Equatorial Guinea. Both qualified for the knockout rounds with a game to spare and both did it in dramatic style.
The rules which determine international eligibility must be looked into, argues Steve Menary
Equatorial Guinea’s run to the quarter-finals of the Africa Cup of Nations augurs badly for the credibility of future international tournaments. Only five players in the co-hosts’ squad were born in the country. Nine came from Spain, Equatorial Guinea’s former colonial rulers, but players such as Thierry Fidjeu and Narcisse Ekanga – the perpetrator of a shocking dive regularly revisited on YouTube – seemingly have no links to Equatorial Guinea at all.
Many previous winners will miss out on next year’s Africa Cup of Nations after a farcical set of qualifiers, reports Paul Giess
On the same weekend that the big guns of European football secured their places at Euro 2012, several major African teams were being eliminated from the corresponding Cup of Nations in 2012. Eight of the winners from the past nine tournaments failed to make it on a weekend of drama, disappointment and farce. The list of failures includes reigning champions Egypt, alongside the traditional powerhouses Nigeria and Cameroon, and World Cup 2010 hosts South Africa.
Dermot Corrigan tells of how a player more used to scoring in Drogheda and Derry made his full international debut in Tripoli
On the first weekend in June, most Irish football eyes were fixed on Macedonia, where the Republic of Ireland won 2-0 in a Euro 2012 qualifier. One head though – that of Dublin-born Eamon Zayed – was more interested in Group C of the African Cup of Nations qualifiers, where his Libyan team drew 1-1 away to the Comoros Islands to remain in the hunt for a place at next year’s finals.